get out of the shower, getting dressed. He says you have a, you have a call. And so I said, hi. He's like,

hi. My name is Benedict CUNY and I'm your attorney. You've just been indicted by the federal government.

You've been charged with a crime. He's like, the U.S. Marshal might come looking for you. I'm, it's 26 counts,

25 counts of bank fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. If they indict you and get you

convicted on crimes like 30, 40, 50 million dollars, you're looking at like probably 15 to 20 years

each count, 12 years times 26 is 312 years. People just fold. And even if you're willing to be the

macho man and say, yeah, I'm not going to testify, My whole life changed, you know, in that instant.

Rabbi Elie Ruzal walked away from a high-powered real estate career to fully immerse in Torah

and learning. And just as he found purpose and stability, he was hit with a federal indictment

and the threat of 300 plus years in prison. He refused to flip, stay true to his values,

and faced it head on. No plea deals,

no shortcuts. It's a wild story, but it will show you the power of learning Torah. What? How?

You'll see. And I'm excited for you to listen. And I think every single Yeshiva guy and his wife needs to hear this episode. This isn't a comeback story. It's a conviction

story. This episode is in loving memory of Shimon David bin Yaakov Shlema and Mirams Sarabas

Yakov-Mosh. Thank you to our sponsors, Bitbean, Peasy deals, wheels to lease, and the

tow wrap. Here we go. I'm Yaka Langer and you're listening to Inspiration for the Nation.

Okay, so Rabe Eli Riesel, we have so much to talk about.

Could you tell me about your life and how everything was going before prison?

Yeah.

So it's very funny.

Like the big story is prison, but the context, to paint the picture about, you know, what we were going through before that, I think really puts the story into a really different type of perspective. I grew up, simple guy, North Miami Beach, it doesn't get more simple than that. In Yashiva, you know, Yashiva Teres Chaim, it's a branch of the Shivas Chavitschaym from Queens, very successful there, you know, you know, working up the ranks, ninth grade, 10th grade,

Gamara was probably, you know, like they put in the yearbook of what you're, what they expect

...